A new report from Cushman & Wakefield reveals a surge in data centre real estate across the globe.
The growth is driven by soaring cloud demand and the explosive growth of AI, according to the report, titled Global Data Centre Market Comparison.
London continues to be a dominant player in the European market, ranking 5th globally.
Markets like Madrid, Milan, Oslo, and Stockholm are experiencing rapid growth due to increasing capacity. These regions are expected to maintain high growth trajectories.
Traditional powerhouses like Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin (FLAP-D) still face challenges with power, land availability, and planning processes, but remain in high demand.
Southern Europe is attracting interest due to subsea cable connectivity, while Nordic metros benefit (Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, and more rural locations) from abundant renewable energy sources.
Among the top 10 global emerging markets, Milan placed 2nd and Zurich 6th.
Andrew Fray, head of EMEA Data Centres, said: ‘Unceasing hyperscale demand is putting severe pressure on the FLAP-D markets which nonetheless continue to grow despite limitations on available power, planning and land. Meanwhile, pipelines in Southern Europe and the Nordics are dramatically changing the data centre landscape, as operators chase powered land at mega-scale for cloud and AI, and a distributed a-zonal topography emerges. The appetite to build data centres across the region is substantial with investors drawn towards this attractive asset class.’
